What Schizophrenia Looks Like From Where I Stand

I am writing this essay about schizophrenia. I have had detailed training in this disease being in law enforcement my whole entire life. However, I guess I have been somewhat bias on people just using it as an excuse to commit crimes, and even sometimes murder against people and law enforcement.

Real people will never understand the pressure that is on a law enforcement officer. Things happen so quickly that you don’t have time to react or make a right decision. As you grow older and learn the different behaviors of people, you can actually understand the disease better.

Which brings me to my relationship with my friend Dan, who I met just hanging out in my local supermarket running my usually big and foul mouth. It took me a while to figure out what type of person Dan is, and I will say it kind of shocked me because there are very few people in this world looking to not only help one, but anyone who needs help. He is involved with so many agencies and projects that he goes above and beyond to alert people about, just hoping it helps just one to make his day.

I don’t think Dan liked me at first because I have a very dry humor and sometimes say things that, if you don’t know me, you will get offended. Seeing how Dan does actually make a difference in society, I can say schizophrenia can be treated but, just because it works for Dan does not mean it will work for all. So, I feel everyone should deserve a chance to be treated for this disease, and we need society to step up and be willing to make sure the compensation is available to handle it from start to finish.

Not just put them in a straight jacket and pump them up on meds while they drool and eat jello until Wally the nurse brings them back to their room to “help” them get ready for bed. We have had so many people get pushed in front of trains or down steps of the subway that it’s a very alarming situation. How do we identify these people. How do we help them the right way.

I am a believer that the right system can work, but when someone is brought to Bellevue Hospital and then released in two hours and goes and pushes an innocent senior citizen down some stairs and kills him, that’s a big problem. Makes me wonder how Dan has things under control and we can probably learn from him on how to determine and define the different situations.

It’s a long road ahead for all of us because we all need to exist in society together. Maybe our future is something like the John Carpenter movie Escape from New York as we just throw everyone with illness and rap sheets into Manhattan Island with no way off. It’s just everyone for themselves while the rich and privileged get to spend their days in a fantasy world, keeping the rest of us around to clean up and take care of the daily operations that they refuse to conquer.

Funny, years ago I would laugh this off. Looking at the state of our country we might not be that far away. Can we find a way to save us all is the question. What I ask is the answer…